Orphanage destroyed in DRC by fire

 An electrical fire destroyed an orphanage in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Wednesday. More than 200 children and adults escaped unharmed, and International Christian Concern (ICC) is committed to helping the owners rebuild. 

ICC has supported the overcrowded orphanage with emergency supplies over the past year, including food, medicine, safe water, clothing, mattresses, and a fish farm. The children, from babies to teens, were orphaned by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) terrorist group that killed their parents and ravaged their Christian communities. 

The Christian couple that has run the 30-year orphanage on a small plot of land risked their lives to save the children. The husband and wife have been overwhelmed and stretched beyond their limits recently, as more orphans are brought to them. The ADF storms through communities and kills Christians regularly – babies are found still clinging to their dead mothers and brought to the orphanage weekly. 

The ADF has been around since 1995 and was formally affiliated with the Islamic State in 2019. The United States government named the Islamist extremists a terrorist group in 2021. ICC also called out the terrorists in its comprehensive 2022 Persecutor of the Year report.

ICC asks for prayers for the children to find shelter in nearby refugee camps.